Law and order: Traders protest police inaction

Protesters say robberies and incidents of street crime have increased.

SARGODHA:

Dozens of traders on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration at University Road in Sargodha against police’s alleged failure to control crime.

The protesters said unidentified men broke into a shop on Tuesday and took away electronics worth millions of rupees.

They said the police had “failed” to provide security to citizens.

Ahmed, one of the protesters, told the media that the lives and property of citizens was not safe.

He said robberies and incidents of street crime had increased.

He said armed men snatched Rs2.3 million from Fayyaz Ahmad, a trader, when he was on his way to Phularwan from Sargodha on Tuesday.



Separately, he said armed men broke into Muhammad Hayat Jaspal’s house in Miana Hazara on Monday and took away Rs1,060,000 in cash, jewellery and valuables.

He said the robbers also beat up Jaspal. Jaspal was taken to a hospital.

His condition was assessed by doctors treating him as critical.

In another incident on Tuesday, Ahmed said Muhammad Shafi, a trader from Halalpur, was robbed by unidentified armed men. He said Shafi was on his way home on a motorcycle when two armed men stopped him at gunpoint and took away his motorcycle.

Separately, he said, a buffalo was stolen from Zafar Iqbal’s dera at Kot Ghazi Khora and trees worth Rs18,000 was stolen from Ismail Babbi’s farm.

The protesters blocked University Road and demanded that police immediately arrest the criminals.

The protest ended when police assured the protesters that the culprits would be arrested soon and the matter would be dealt with in accordance with the law.

10-year-old killed

Faisalabad. A 10-year-old boy was killed in a feud in Jaranwala on Wednesday. Police said Gohar, a resident of Chak 355-GB, had an old rivalry with Mazhar. On Wednesday police said Mazhar and his accomplices abducted Waseem, Gohar’s son, and tortured him. Police said the boy was later taken to a hospital where he died.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 6^th, 2014.